The primary goal of MWH’s GBP 14 million Seafield Wastewater Treatment project was to enhance treated sludge prior to its entering the
digestion system. The technology being used is thermal hydrolysis, which increases biogas production and sludge dewaterability. By feeding
the biogas into the site’s combined heat and power systems, the facility, which is owned by Stirling Water, became one of the first plants in
Europe to be virtually energy self-sufficient. In addition, because it produces a pasteurized sludge that is 99. 99 percent pathogen free, the
plant can distribute its sludge for agricultural use rather than landfill.

Sharing the pipework model allowed MWH to change how it approved detailed pipework – from issuing and checking drawings to reviewing
changes electronically. Moreover, the integration of OpenPlant with Oculus Rift virtual reality head-mounted displays made it easy to spot
clashes prior to construction, and allowed operations and maintenance to be immersed in the model during design review.